Tuesday, 25 August 2015

Mothers are often told "breast is best" when it comes to feeding
their newborns. But according to a new study, breastfeeding could also
expose infants to a number of toxic chemicals.

Researchers found that for every month a baby is exclusively breastfed, their PFAS concentrations rise by 20-30%.

Published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology,
the research reveals that the longer a baby is breastfed, the greater
their exposure to a common class of industrial chemicals called
perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs).
PFASs are chemicals added to clothing, food packaging, lubricants and
other products in order to make them resistant to water, grease and
stains.
According to study co-author Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of
environmental health at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in
Boston, MA, and colleagues, PFASs bioaccumulate in food chains and can
remain in the body for a long time.
PFASs can often be found in the blood of humans and animals, note the
researchers, and previous studies have associated them with immune
system impairment, reproductive abnormalities, endocrine disruption and cancer.
Grandjean says it was already known that small amounts of PFASs can be
detected in breast milk and that these chemicals can be passed to
infants. What is less clear, however, is whether such chemicals
accumulate in an infant as breastfeeding duration increases.

To investigate this issue, the team analyzed the blood samples of 81
children who were born in the Faroe Islands between 1997 and 2000.
The blood samples - taken at birth and when the children were aged 11
months, 18 months and 5 years - were assessed for the presence of five
PFASs. The team also analyzed blood samples from the children's mothers,
taken at 32 weeks of pregnancy.
Among children who were exclusively breastfed, the researchers
found PFAS concentrations rose by around 20-30% for each month of
breastfeeding. A lower monthly increase in PFAS concentrations was
identified among children who were partially breastfed, according to the
team.
The researchers identified one PFAS - perfluorohexanesulfonate - whose
concentrations did not increase with breastfeeding duration.
The team found that at time of breastfeeding cessation, the PFAS
concentrations of many infants exceeded those of their mothers, though
concentrations of all five PFASs started to reduce shortly after.
This study suggests breastfeeding is a key exposure pathway to some
PFASs in infants - a worrying finding, according to Grandjean. He says:

"There is no reason to discourage breastfeeding, but we
are concerned that these pollutants are transferred to the next
generation at a very vulnerable age. Unfortunately, the current US
legislation does not require any testing of chemical substances like
PFASs for their transfer to babies and any related adverse effects."